Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) was reelected Speaker of the House on Thursday after a week of rumors of a possible GOP revolt.

Boehner won a bare majority in a vote that saw nine Republicans vote for other GOP members, and several others who abstained from voting or voted “present.” Two years ago, Boehner won all 241 available GOP votes.

In a vote that opened the 113th Congress, Boehner received 220 votes, compared to 192 for Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the minority leader. Fourteen members voted for other candidates or present. Boehner needed 218 votes to win reelection assuming a full roster of 435 members voted, but only 426 voted, so he only needed 214 votes.

So Boehner can expect another two years of being pantsed by Cantor and the teahadists.

https://www.balloon-juice.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/balloon_juice_header_logo_grey.jpg00John Colehttps://www.balloon-juice.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/balloon_juice_header_logo_grey.jpgJohn Cole2013-01-03 16:05:082013-01-03 16:05:08You're Still the One

He wouldn’t do himself any favors by actually being Speaker – either he’d have to engage in at least the appearance of negotiating, which would kill his Tea Party cred, or he’d have to be Dr. No, in which case he’d lose his MSM cred.

His best position is right where he is, with Boehner still Speaker, but with extremely shaky support. And damned if that isn’t what happened.

I think my favorite part is that there were Republicans that actually voted for Allen West who, wait for it, is no longer a member of Congress. That’s like writing in Mickey Mouse. (rolls eyes at the stupidity)

I have a hard time understanding why he even wants it. He’s been effectively neutered by his Teabagging colleagues, especially those who are the #2 and #3 GOPer in the House under him. From several things I’ve read, he’s completely delusional about his own legacy…he seems to think he’s going to go down as one of the all-time great Speakers, like Sam Rayburn or Henry Clay. He has expressed this wish to other people. They must have been astonished at him actually saying such a thing out loud where other people could hear him.

Regardless, this empty suit with bourbon fumes wafting from it almost got beat by Nancy SMASH. Whatta loser.

Of course, in the event that some barefoot Italian shepherd got elected Pope, they’d fast-track him through ordination and eleveation so fast there’d be surplices still spinning in the air when they got the Fisherman’s Ring on his finger.

The thing that baffles me about this is … are the perks of being Speaker so great that there is no amount of humiliation that would make someone not want the job? One wonders what Boehner would have done if, say, ten or so Republicans said that they would support him for Speaker but only if he conducted House business for the next two years wearing a pink leotard with a penis drawn on his forehead.

So how’s this work? If Boehner decides that this term, he’s going to blow off the Hastert rule and actually bring up legislation that has substantial support in the GOP caucus, rather than just majority support of the GOP caucus – could he be recalled?

Cooper is a complete horses ass. I have always loved the story that when the Dems were wiped out in 94 that one Clinton staffer is said to have said something along the lines of the silver lining was that Cooper lost his seat.

@huckster: Boehner always struck me as the kind of guy who would be happy to cut deals that brought home the bacon for his GOP peers … but he’s been saddled with a cadre of TeaPols who are elected by gerrymandered districts that will vote R even if said R is taking a wrecking ball to the local economy. Thus, normal rules don’t apply – unless he sheds the Hastert rule as he did for the Tax Bill. If Boehner really does intend to be crafting legislation that has a chance of hell in the Senate, he’s gonna have to start working with Nancy to get it passed.

@General Stuck: Some Senate Dems were more a problem than Republicans in the fiscal cliff negotiation. Obama was afraid to go over the cliff because he feared a handful of midwest Dems, not Republicans, would undercut him.

Those same midwest Dems(and Schumer) are torpedoing any attempt to make real reforms to the filibuster.

I don’t think that’s likely. I’m “lucky” enough to live in Boehner’s district (just outside Dayton), and he seems to be pretty well entrenched here–the Democrats didn’t even have a candidate on the ballot opposing him last November.

Given how psychotic most teabaggers are, you can never completely rule out a primary challenge, but I don’t see it happening. Recalling Boehner would mean losing the prestige that comes with being the Speaker’s district, and I doubt the locals here want that.

In a way, I’m disappointed. I would have been thoroughly entertained by a successful Cantor coup, followed by him realizing just what he had to do as Speaker and, of course, failing miserably and hysterically at it. The status quo isn’t all that bad, though — a virtual cartoon character put in place by a bunch of unruly idiots and lunatics who voted for him because they know they can run roughshod over him like a substitute teacher, and whose opposition alternately laughs at him and extorts him for the votes he needs to get his bills past his own fucking caucus. Naturally, I’d be much happier if the Dems had retaken the House in November and we didn’t have to deal with this silliness at all. But since we do have to deal with it, I’m glad there’s at least a little entertainment in it.

I have trouble believing rabid right-wing Christian fundamentalists, i.e. GOP House members, would vote the lone Jew in their caucus to lead them.

The antisemitism that pops up from right-wingers, i.e. the GOP base, from time to time is pretty disturbing and I think would effectively limit how close a GOP politician can be openly supporting a Jew for House Speaker.

I’m not completely convinced this is true. I think you’re right about Cantor not wanting it this time around, although I don’t think he put himself any closer to getting it in the future this week.

The way Boehner handled the last Fiscal Cliff vote might have been the smartest thing he’s ever done as speaker. He made it plain that Cantor runs a portion of the caucus that can stop things from happening, but is nowhere near having the power to actually implement their agenda.

Whenever Cantor and his crew decide to throw a tantrum and smear feces on the walls, Boehner can now take legislation to his caucus, challenge Cantor to come up with 218 votes for Tea Party preferences, and do any damn thing he likes when they fail, with or without Democrats. The composition of the Republican caucus isn’t going to shift significantly enough over the next few election cycles to change that.

Hell, Boehner might even grow fond of what occasionally being all bipartisany does for his, uh, “legacy.”

I agree. In the midwest, the problem is senate dems in overall more conservative region of the country and electorate. But there are any number of dems, and some, otherwise quite liberal, who are either wealthy themselves, or have friends that are wealthy in affluent blue states. Schumer, and even Pelosi nibbled around the one million cutoff for those tax cuts to be made permanent. They aren’t that vocal about it for obvious party platform reasons, but you have to keep an eye on them on any and all financial issues.

There were some goodies in this bill that came out of the senate, for the wealthier folks, and no doubt snuck in by democrats. But on the whole, it was a progressive bill in basic structure, and avoided new spending cuts and a great ratio of revenue/cuts. And I just don’t get the emo progs and pro left kvetching about how Obama negotiated badly, thereby emboldening the wingnuts for the debt ceiling battle.

This is twice now on these issues that the day was saved by from GOP games of chicken with dem votes on fairly clean bills, in the House of Reps that republicans controlled. So this time, they are really going to kill the hostage and not cave? I don’t think so. The profit gods are not in favor of such things.

So Boehner can expect another two years of being pantsed by Cantor and the teahadists.

You wonder, why does he do it? All the aggravation, frustration. He doesn’t need the money. He’s got health care for life. And don’t make me laugh by saying he feels a deep need to serve his country. Is it just plain inertia? Stubborness? The same God-know-why-Romney-insisted-on-another-pointless-run?

Just read in TPM that the rethugs will not, repeat WILL NOT allow the debt ceiling to go up without serious spending cuts that must be proposed by the Democrats. This circus ain’t over.

Read that. If they really mean it, and by ‘spending cuts’ they only mean dismantling the New Deal, then we are closer to civil war than was thought. They are not only demanding surrender, but that dems write their own epitaph by proposing the demise of entitlements themselves. It is insane talk, and if they force a default, it would be no different imo, than sending a cannon ball to Ft Sumter, all over again.

Making sure to tend its base, the AP hardly noticed that Boner barely got re-elected. Why the Huffpo is involved with this republican porte-parole news “service” I don’t know. Oh yes, I know, they have Howard Fineman as editorial poo-bah.

This. Imagine the ego strokes. Boehner is thinking “In 100 years no one will remember what a bozo and loser I was as Speaker, but my name will still be there in the books, as two heartbeats away from the Presidency.”